My first one is kind of painful, but it does have a small frugal part. And after that, it’s nice smooth frugal sailing.
Let’s get this first one over with!
1. I did my taxes.
I used a copy of TurboTax that I bought at Costco (oddly, way cheaper than buying TurboTax on the TurboTax site).
This was frugal on the tax prep side, but it was a painful job.
The good news is that I earned more last year than I thought I would.
The bad news is that the estimated taxes I paid in 2019 did not nearly cover my tax bill. Oy.
This photo is really coming in handy to illustrate any negative feelings I have.
But I have new, painfully high estimated tax payments to make this coming year, so next year things will be less painful at tax time.
(Yay? I think?)
And I am trying to remember that more income is a good thing, even if it does mean more taxes.
Taxes do not eat up 100% of the extra income!
2. I planted my purple hyacinth beans.
I had the seeds saved from last year, so I planted them around my mailbox and my front step railings.
Last year, I forgot until really late, and my plants never did get very big. So, this year is going to be better!
And hopefully, they’ll look more like this:
3. I fixed a pair of joggers.
They had three small holes in them, in the usual spots: waistband and the top of the pockets.
So, I found an old yoga pant leg:
and then I cut it into small pieces, and used them to make inside patches for all three holes.
Basically, I pin the extra fabric around the hole, sew it in place, and trim the excess.
It looks like this from the outside; fairly invisible, especially from a distance.
4. I mended a cloth shopping bag.
Reusable bags are less environmentally friendly if you throw them away instead of repairing them. 😉
And luckily, the ones that are made of actual cloth (vs that plastic “cloth” with holes in it) are pretty repairable.
This cotton one somehow got a pretty big rip by the handle.
And it had a slightly shredded part on the body of the bag.
I found an old khaki pant leg in my rag bag:
and I used that fabric to fix the rip by the handle.
And I did the same for the frayed body part of the bag.
5. I got an eBay refund.
I ordered a theory book for one of my girls, and it arrived seriously bent.
Since the book had looked pristine in the listing, I messaged the seller to ask about it. They said it was probably the post office’s fault, but they gave me an instant refund anyway.
I feel kinda bad about it, since it wasn’t the seller’s fault. But I do appreciate their commitment to customer satisfaction, and I gave them a glowing rating on eBay.
Marcy
Monday 11th of May 2020
Follow up question on TurboTax from Costco...I have completed my taxes online at TurboTax.com, but noticed it was $60 to e-file Federal. Naturally, I remembered this post and went to purchase at Costco.com, but will I have to enter all my data again or does the code we receive from Costco work with TurboTax.com?
Kristen
Wednesday 13th of May 2020
Hmm. I'm not sure about this! I downloaded TurboTax from Costco and then was able to import last year's tax return into the download (I did TurboTax online last year).
I don't think the Costco code works on TurboTax online, though.
I think you could get on a chat with a TurboTax rep to get some advice about how to proceed. It seems like you should be able to import your current progress from the online version into the downloaded version from Costco.
Tina Ray
Tuesday 5th of May 2020
I took green onion ends and put them in small glass of water and then after almost two week they were big enough to plant in a pot of soil. Super excited! Gardening, frugal, and environmentally friendly. I am goin go to try some other "gardening".
Tina Ray
Tuesday 5th of May 2020
*I am going to try #fatfingersnonails
Julia
Monday 27th of April 2020
I’ve also been doing some mending. #1 I did the same type of patching you did on your pants to my favorite camo cargo shorts, which had become unwearable due to holes. My son asked me to turn his cargo pants into shorts and I used the cut off parts to patch my shorts. I mended one of my husbands long sleeved t-shirts and six pair of my underwear (not glamorous but that’s like a whole pack of underwear I now don’t need to replace!) #2 Was given a bunch of extra food from a friend which fed us for several days. #3 I wanted an end table next to the love seat in our bedroom, since I’m spending more time sitting there reading these days. Shopped my house and found something that looks great, so avoided looking to buy something. #4 found the hardware for a used rabbit pen I had bought several months ago. I had put them in a “safe place” so I’d be able to find them, then forgot where it was! Lol. Saved having to purchase new hardware. #5 I’ve been eating odd bits of frozen stuff for lunch. I pretend it’s a game called “What’s For Lunch.” as I usually have no idea what it is till it thaws. Lol. I’ve eaten some pretty interesting stuff. I make a normal lunch for the family but this has helped with my goal of cleaning out the deep freeze.
Isa
Friday 24th of April 2020
* Been saving so much in gas lately! Apart from going to work and the grocery store, the car is unused. And the gas is cheaper lately. I usually put around 200$/month. I think I'm at about 40$ right now
* My outings are inexistant due to the pandemic, so this is frugal in itself!
* Going grocery shopping only once a week instead of multiple times cuts impulse buys
* Saving a whole lot of money by having the kids at home right now! No daycare fees, no outings/special activities, no classes, etc. It adds up!
* I've been picking up more shifts than usual= more monayyyy!
Susan P Fitzpatrick
Thursday 23rd of April 2020
This is a great recipe for salmon filets. The important thing is not to overcook salmon for best texture. It takes exactly 21 mins in my oven but may vary slightly according to your oven temp. https://therecipecritic.com/garlic-brown-sugar-glazed-salmon/